PGA Tour: The American Express
Page? site: La Quinta, California.
Courses: PGA West-Pete Dye Stadium (Yardage: 7,187, Par: 72); PGA West Nicklaus Tournament (Yardage: 7,147, Par: 72); La Quinta CC (Yardage: 7,060. Par: 72).
prize money: 8 million dollars. Winner’s Share: $1.44 million.
TV: Watch Golf Channel on FuboTV
Thursday-Sunday, 3pm-7pm
Previous winner: Hudson Swafford.
Leading FedEx Cup: Seamu’s power.
Last week: Si Woo Kim won the Sony Open.
Remarks: For a low-level event, the field is extremely strong, with five of the top seven players in the world and 10 of the top 20. Among those in attendance are Kapalua winner Jon Rahm, Masters champion Scottie Scheffler and Patrick Cantlay. … Xander Schauffele is on duty after being tested for muscle spasms in his back. Schauffele has changed his training slightly. … Rickie Fowler is playing his first tournament of 2023 after scoring two top-10 finishes in the fall, including a second-place finish at the Zozo Championship in Japan. … Taiga Semikawa of Japan makes his second consecutive PGA Tour start with a sponsorship waiver. Already during his studies he won twice on the Japan Golf Tour. … The tournament was previously hosted by Phil Mickelson until The American Express dropped him following his involvement in Saudi Arabia-funded LIV Golf. … This is the second time in three PGA Tour events this year that the previous winner (Hudson Swafford) has been suspended for signing with LIV Golf.
Next week: Farmers insurance open.
On-line: https://www.pgatour.com/
LPGA Tour: Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions
Page? site: OrlandoFlorida.
Course: Lake Nona Golf & CC. Mileage: 6,617. Score: 72.
prize money: $1.5 million. Winner’s share: $225,000.
TV: Watch on FuboTV
Thursday-Friday, 12pm-3pm (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 2pm-3pm (Golf Channel), 3pm-5pm (NBC).
Defending Champion: Danielle Kang.
Race for the CME Globe Champion: Lydia Ko.
Last tournament: Lydia Ko won the CME Group Tour Championship.
Remarks: The opening event of the LPGA is eye-catching for non-gamers with just three players from the top 10 in the women’s world rankings. … Lydia Ko, who won the CME Group Tour Championship to return to world No. 1, got married last month and is unlikely to play before next month’s Saudi Ladies International. Ko has a home on Lake Nona where the tournament is held. … US Women’s Open champion Minjee Lee and women’s PGA champion In Gee Chun are not playing. … The Tournament of Champions is the first event but then it takes a month for the LPGA season to resume in Thailand to start its Asian swing. … Nelly Korda recently signed with Nike and is trying to keep the momentum from late last year. Her 2022 season was cut short by surgery due to a blood clot in her arm.
Next tournament: Honda LPGA Thailand from February 23rd to 26th.
On-line: https://www.lpga.com/
DP World Tour: Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship
Page? site: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Course: Yas Links Abu Dhabi GC. Mileage: 7,425. Score: 72.
prize money: 9 million dollars. Winner’s Share: $1.5 million.
TV: Watch Golf Channel on FuboTV
Thursday-Friday, 2:30am-8:30am; Saturday-Sunday, 2pm-8am
Defending Champion: Thomas Pieter.
Race to Dubai Winners: Rory McIlroy.
Last week: Continental Europe won the Hero Cup.
Remarks: The official DP World Tour season kicks off with its first Rolex Series event…While it usually has one of the strongest fields at the start of the season, Abu Dhabi will not have anyone in the top 10 in the world. … Career-long PGA Tour member Sepp Straka of Austria is among those players hoping for big Ryder Cup points. … The field includes 10 players who competed in at least four events with Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf last year, including Lee Westwood, Henrik Stenson, Ian Poulter and Patrick Reed. … Reed, who dropped out of the top 80, will fight for world ranking points for the first time in about four months. … Two-time Major champion Martin Kaymer, who has won three times in Abu Dhabi, is not playing. … Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald is in the field. Also in attendance is former European captain Padraig Harrington, who is in Abu Dhabi after his break in Ireland instead of the PGA Tour Champions opener in Hawaii.
Next week: Hero Dubai desert classic.
On-line: https://www.europeantour.com/dpworld-tour/
PGA Tour Champions: Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Hualalai
Page? site: Ka’upulehu-Kona, Hawaii.
Course: Hualalai GC. Mileage: 7,107. Score: 72.
prize money: 2 million dollars. Winner’s share: $340,000.
TV: Watch Golf Channel on FuboTV
Thursday-Saturday, 7pm-10pm
Defending Champion: Miguel Angel Jimenez.
Charles Schwab Cup Winners: Stephen Alker.
Last tournament: Padraig Harrington won the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
Remarks: This is the first tournament of the PGA Tour Champions season and concludes on Saturday in prime time. … Padraig Harrington is on a long break in Ireland and won’t play the opener. He’s playing on the European Tour in Abu Dhabi this week. …Sponsor exceptions include David Duval, Justin Leonard, Tom Lehman and Jeff Sluman, who will join the USGA’s Executive Committee. … KJ Choi and Jerry Kelly played at the Sony Open last week and missed the cut. You are in the Hualalai field. … Steve Stricker is on the job. He hasn’t played since winning the Constellation Furyk & Friends in Jacksonville, Fla. in October for his fourth win of the year. He did not play in the PGA Tour Champions postseason. … Bernhard Langer has 44 career wins and needs another to break Hale Irwin’s record. Langer won twice last year and has won every year since he turned 50 in 2007. The tour will take a two-week break before continuing in Morocco.
Next tournament: Trophy Hassan II on 9-11 February.
On-line: https://www.pgatour.com/champions.html
Other tours
Grain Ferry Tour: The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic (Sunday-Wednesday), The Abaco Club in Winding Bay, Great Abaco, Bahamas. Defending champion: Brandon Harkins. Online: https://www.pgatour.com/korn-ferry-tour.html